A steering wheel for a boat rudder may have different dimensions depending on the type and dimensions of the craft and may sometimes hinder the movements of persons on-board.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,048,444 describes a rudder wheel for boats which is mounted rotatably on a support column by means of a suitable pivot, having a longitudinal axis parallel to the stern-prow direction of the boat itself. This pivot is formed by two portions which are aligned and fastened together by means of a rotational coupling having a direction of rotation substantially perpendicular to the pivot itself. In this way the wheel of the rudder can be rotated from the operative position into an angular rest position, laterally with respect to the support column.
A drawback of this solution consists in the fact that the overall volume of the rudder wheel is not reduced since the wheel is simply rotated. In particular, in the rotated rest position, the available space close to the support column in the transverse direction is increased, but at the same time the free space in the longitudinal direction is decreased.
In field other than the nautical one, for example in the motor-car field, numerous applications aimed at reducing the volume of the driving or steering devices are known. In particular, U.S. Pat. No. 5,199,319 describes a steering device for a vehicle, comprising a wheel mounted axially on a rotatable steering shaft. The steering device comprises adjusting means for varying the inclination and the length of the rotatable steering shaft, so as to adjust the inclination and the axial position of the steering wheel and find the most comfortable configuration. A similar device could also be used in the nautical field in order to vary the length and the inclination of the column which supports the rudder steering wheel.
The application of this solution to boats would make it possible to find the optimum position for use of the steering wheel, but would be unlikely to achieve a significant reduction in the overall volume.
JP-58030867 describes a steering wheel for motor vehicles having a circular rim supported by three spokes converging towards the rotatable shaft of the steering system. The circular rim is divided into three segments, each of which is fastened to a respective spoke. Each spoke is connected to the rotatable shaft by means of a rotational coupling having an axis of rotation perpendicular to the shaft itself. In this way it is possible to fold a spoke and the respective rim segment towards the inside of the steering wheel and reduce the volume of the steering wheel itself, for example in order to facilitate entry into and exit from the motor vehicle.
This solution could also be applied in the nautical field to a rudder steering wheel, but would be of limited usefulness since it would allow only one segment of the rim to be folded. In so doing, the volume of the steering wheel would be reduced on one side only and the non-folded portion of the wheel would continue to hinder movements on-board.